🎬 Here is the recording of our first ever virtual cuppa for those who want to catch the replay. My day was full of unforeseen curve balls so ended up having to dial in from the car - but wouldn't have missed it for all the world! Deep thanks to those who joined & blessings to those who will join the replay. We're weaving something so special here... thanks for being here & creating this together. x 🐦‍⬛ THE BELL AND THE BLACKBIRD By David Whyte The sound of a bell still reverberating, or a blackbird calling from a corner of a field. Asking you to wake into this life or inviting you deeper to one that waits. Either way takes courage, either way wants you to be nothing but that self that is no self at all, wants you to walk to the place where you find you already know how to give every last thing away. The approach that is also the meeting itself, without any meeting at all. That radiance you have always carried with you as you walk both alone and completely accompanied in friendship by every corner of the world crying Allelujah. 🐦‍⬛

🐦‍⬛ Visible Friday #6: A newsletter is not optional. It’s your anchor. ⚓️ When I started my monthly newsletter over a year ago I had one very loud internal voice asking: *who on earth is gunna want to sign up for monthly emails from a funeral director?!* I poured my heart and creativity into it & sent it anyway. My subscriber list started at zero but I didn’t focus on that, I focused on the rhythm of it. It arrives every month whether I feel ready or not. It forces me to keep making things, keep noticing things, keep sharing what I’m finding across the death care space. Advocacy over advertising. It also had to feel like me, which means every issue includes a mixtape playlist cos my folks taught me you never arrive empty-handed - even when it’s an inbox. 🎶 SOCIALS v SUBSCRIBERS It’s all well & good us busting a gut building our social presence - but the hard truth is that your social following isn’t really yours. It’s borrowed real estate. The algorithm decides who sees your work, and it can change overnight. Your email list is different. Those people gave you their actual inbox. That relationship is yours. The numbers back this up. Email consistently outperforms social media for reach, engagement and conversion - most estimates put email open rates somewhere between 20-40% for niche audiences, compared to organic social reach that often sits below 5%. For a small practice built on trust and relationship, that gap matters enormously. Building an email list is one of the most practical things you can do for your visibility and your business sustainability. It doesn’t need to be a weekly marathon. It needs to be yours - consistent, generous and recognisably you. So, this week’s Visible Friday prompt: 🐦‍⬛ If you already have a newsletter - drop your sign-up link below. Let’s all subscribe and learn from each other. 🐦‍⬛ If you don’t have one yet - start small. What would you genuinely enjoy writing? What do you love receiving in your own inbox? Begin there. A list of one is still a list.